He has been in  an ordeal

but he doesn’t tell.

I gaze at him regularly and try to penetrate his mind

but I am not allowed inside.

People say he is a taciturn so he never shares anything with anyone

but I can see his earnest eyes crying .

I am afraid he can go into paroxysm of pain any time.

He is a beleaguered father,

his dreams have been shattered .

Trials and tribulations are not ending

and shackles of poverty are not breaking.

What is his fault?

He has been working hard for his children day and night

yet he is not able to fulfill their dreams .

This aches his heart.

He is fed up of life’s vagaries

He needs succour and some rest too.

Decades have been spent in misery

now he doesn’t dream of a good life

because he is in despair.

~Muskan Antil

Sonepat, India